Taming the Demon Inside
by Veraduxxz
Summary: Ellisandre is one of the Illidari, demon hunters sent to Mardum to enhance their power. However on returning, they were imprisoned in the Vault of the Wardens. Now, many years later, the Legion attacks. It is now up to her and the Illidari to resume their fight against the Legion. However, the control over the demon in her is waning. [Beta Lore]


**Hello and welcome to Taming the Demon Inside. This is a story that's going to be focusing on the new Legion expansion and will combine lore from Alpha and Beta of Legion so far to fuel most of the story. Note that this might be subject to change within the game itself and there are certain bits that do not adhere to the in-game lore so far at all as to make more sense within the story and fuel it's plot better. Also:**

 **DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE STORY TO BE SPOILED FOR YOU. THIS WILL BE VERY SPOILER HEAVY! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

 **So now that that is out of the way, this story is both practice and serious. The practice will be with the "I" style of writing and as such I _will_ struggle with it. Please bear with me. Also be sure to Review and / or PM! I don't bite and love to hear from my readers. Also check out my RWBY story Weapons Pointed at the Enemy if you are interested in that.**

 **Okay, Formal nonsense out of the way, I gladly present you, Taming the Demon Inside, Chapter 1 : Escape.**

* * *

Chapter 1 : Escape

 _Ah.. Such a fine specimen.._

The voice echoes in my mind.

 _Strong. Agile. Enduring.._

The deep voice rumbles on, tone laced with the most potent poison known to Azeroth.

 _And so confident of your hold over me.._

The voice says, chuckling.

 _I will take much pleasure in breaking you. Piece, by little.._

The voice continues as a rumbling starts in the back my mind.

 _ **PIECE.**_

The voice thunders as the confines of my mind shake and I fall into the darkness.

* * *

I remember waking up from the Vault of the Wardens, where I and my brothers and sisters were held. We thought we were going back to the Black Temple, to aid Lord Illidan. But we were too late. The heroes of Azeroth and Shattrath City helped the Wardens to imprison us, and we have been for all those years since.

It was Maiev Shadowsong, leader of the Wardens, that broke me out of my cell. It's a beautiful irony to see that when the Legion attacked and the Vault fell, me and my kin were called upon, by the Wardens themselves no less. But I hold no grudge against them. No. My grudge is against the Legion.

Now, here I stand, warglaives in hand fighting against the Legion once again. The Vault is swarmed with demons. I can only guess at what awaits us outside. Each demon I kill feeds me more and more of the fel energy that fuels me, that empowers me to become the killing machine I am.

"Ellisandre, Gul'dan is here, he is attempting to steal the body of Lord Illidan!" Kayn shouts at me. I glance at him and nod, the message clear.

"Illidari, Aid me! They must not succeed!" Maiev yelled, charging down the corridor.

I follow her closely, slicing with relative ease through the endless hordes of demons. My instincts slowly return to me, the warglaives I wield slowly becoming more and more an extension of myself. I find myself throwing them at my enemies after not too long, my magic helping me return the glaives to my hands. I find myself using my magic to dash through enemies, increasing the pace at which I can follow Maiev. I find myself using the intense chaos energy inside of me to lash out at my enemies and destroy them in an instant.

However, when we get close to the chamber where Lord Illidan is housed, it's closed. We break down the door, but find ourselves being too late in stopping Gul'dan as he teleports Lord Illidan's prison away. His companion chuckles as they walk away.

 _Too late_. The voice echoes in my mind before it bellows into laughter. I ignore it. I have subjugated the demon in me and I draw my power from him. I won't listen to him taunt me.

"Cordana! You will answer to the High Council for this!" Maiev shouts at the other Warden. I didn't need my eyes or my spectral sight to _feel_ the fel radiate off of the person she called 'Cordana'. Clearly she was corrupted and infused with the fel by Gul'dan.

"Judge me all you like, sister, but you cannot stop us." Cordana says, the words spoken with mild amusement.

"You are too late, Warden. This vault will be your tomb." Gul'dan says as two very large siegebeast abominations stepped out of the fel-portals behind them. Cordana and Gul'dan step into the center one, disappearing from the vault.

Maiev swears under her breath. "Demon Hunters, you have to survive. Find the one named Archmage Khadgar. You can trust him." she says, turning to Kayn, Altruis and me.

I nod at her as Kayn and Altruis clash with the large demons.

"Illidan is still my charge!" Maiev shouts as she runs into the portal, following Cordana and Gul'dan.

I dash at the one fighting Kayn and quickly deflect a large blow before slicing it's gut with the chaos energy stored in me. It shouts in rage and tries to hit wildly.

"Just like old times, eh Kayn?" Altruis says. _Altruis the Sufferer._ I think to myself. He betrayed Lord Illidan, fighting against him until the very end.

"Do not speak to me of old times, Altruis. You betrayed Illidan. You betrayed us all!" Kayn says. _Kayn Sunfury._ I remember. He was one of Illidan's most trusted lieutenants, and a great friend to me. Loyal to the very end.

I don't wish to speak. The fel in me is fueling me as well as the demon in me. The demon I subjugated to get the powers I have now so long ago. But it's a fickle balance between control and loss of it, and I dance along the edge of it like the harlots in Silvermoon dance to the whims of their beholders. And right now, after slumbering for so long, I need to be certain that my hold over _him_ is certain.

"After ten-thousand years of imprisonment, Illidan succumbed to the fel energy within." Altruis says. It causes my heart to skip a beat. _No. No hesitation._ "When he was freed, he was not in his right mind."

"He was fighting it, as we all do." Kayn says. _Yes, yes we are._ I think to myself. "He needed us to have faith in him, Altruis."

"You followed Illidan blindly, like a dog. Even when he lost his way." Altruis spits.

I hold no love for Altruis. His betrayal was great and his actions caused many of our brothers and sisters to die in vain. I channel my hatred into the abomination Altruis is fighting instead, firmly lodging my glaives into it's back before ripping them out brutally, felling the beasts.

"He made the hard choices. He sacrificed EVERYTHING." Kayn says, and cut the head of the monster he was fighting.

"I fought as hard as the rest of you! But I did not murder thousands of innocents." Altruis mutters under his breath.

"Shut up, both of you. Maiev said we needed to get out of here. Any ideas?" I say, slashing my glaives to remove the pungent demon blood on them.

"There was an elevator shaft. It will lead us to the upper part of the vault. Let us make our way there, quickly." Kayn said. I nodded at him and us three made our way there.

 _Your control is waning.. The Legion will prevail. And I shall take pleasure into making you my whore for eternity._ The deep voice in my head boomed again accompanied with a splitting pain in my mind. I stumble as I turn to run, using my glaive to hold me steady. Both Altruis and Kayn stop for a moment as I grit my teeth and endure the pain.

Kayn tugs at my arm and helps me up again as the pain fades. "You heard the Warden. We are the only ones who can defeat the Legion. We MUST survive this place." Kayn says gravely.

"Fool! You would trust the Warden? She hates us almost as much as the Legion!" Altruis says disbelievingly..

"You trust no one and believe in nothing, Altruis. You are a leader with no followers." Kayn spits back. I agree with him.

I motion for them to go ahead as I fight myself and the energy in me. I can't show weakness. Not now, not when the moment of our very existence is at hand. I delve into the recesses in my mind for only a moment and secure the hold over myself, finding the voice and silencing it for the time being. I can't remedy this quickly, so a short-term solution will have to do as I return to the present and continue on my way.

I pass several of my kin holding off the demons on our way. Lyana and Marius are fighting valiantly, directing the other demon hunters to fend off the demons when they get a chance to. I run up the hill quickly to join Kayn and Altruis again.

"Kayn and Altruis have already gone ahead. Take this felbat and join them, Ellisandre." Jace says, holding out the captured felbats' reins for me. I take them gladly and mount up, flying up to the upper vault floors.

Another rumbling occurs and a demon's voice follows it. "Your persistence is admirable, but my demons have infiltrated every floor of the Vault. Only death awaits you.".

I land and quickly make my way past the elevator shaft into the center hall.

"This is sheer madness! The Wardens have lost control of their prison." Kor'vas says as she looks over the Wardens and demon hunters alike fighting the hordes of demons. "Aside from us, the most powerful prisoners were sealed on this level. WERE being the operative word.".

"We'll need to deal with them, I suppose then?" I say.

"Ellisandre, We cannot afford to lose Kayn and Altruis here. Waste no time and help them, quickly!" Kor'vas says as she joins the defense of the Vault. I feel a tap on my shoulder and face Allari.

"There is a powerful demon here as well. Immolanth. He led a Legion army that conquered and eventually ruled a distant nexus world. Somehow the wardens imprisoned him and kept him in the chamber to the left. He is contained for now, but it won't take long for him to release. His power could prove valuable in our fight against the Legion and it would take an extremely skilled demon hunter to defeat him. I think that could be you." Allari said and she smiles as she finishes and brandishes her scythe. It's clear what she means and I find myself looking at the doorway to the left.

I quickly make my way there. I find several demon hunters already getting close to Immolanth as he breaks free from his chains and showers the room in doomfire. Instinct fuels me as I dash forward and parry his slash towards one of the demon hunters, inciting his rage towards me.

"Join me, demon hunters. I will increase your power beyond imagining!" Immolanth yells and he cackles as one of his strikes hits one of the demon hunters by accident, felling them in one instant.

He slashes towards me and I dodge around it deftly before striking it's thigh. His large blades have reach, but I outspeed him. I smirk to myself as I repeat the move and dance between his legs. Futily he attempts to stomp me. Failing to do so, he collects the chaos magic gathered in the vicinity. The realization hits me too late as he lets the gathered chaos energy explode outward, blowing us away and stunning us momentarily. I grit my teeth and find the demon in me fuel my transformation, enhancing my demonic abilities even further.

"The wardens would keep us rotting here forever. Why do you fight on their side?" Immolanth inquires.

"Because the Legion may never win." I spit at him before using all the fury stored within in me to strike with chaos magic again and again. Large cuts intermingled with deft dodges and parries spell the end for Immolanth and he falls over, his soul leaving his body.

"Not so fast!" I breath and stab his corpse with my warglaive, absorbing the power he possessed. It's a strange process, essentially 'taking' from the demon what I want and fueling me. It's a high, much like the mana my people use liberally. However it becomes a part of me permanently. I feel my horns growing larger, the tattoos used to enhance the arcanic magic I use glow brighter and my eyes burn fiercer, shaded by the blindfold I wear. Even the demon I imprisoned and subjugated within me can only grant me so much power, the rest I must simply steal.

I tremble for a single moment as I savor the power flowing through me. But there are more important things. I return to the center chamber to find the other cells' countermeasures reactivated. Allari stops me.

"I knew you could do it. Kayn and Altruis have gone ahead. Kor'vas went ahead to meet up with them as well. Take the elevator, it'll take you up to the Hall of Judgement where they should be." Allari said and sliced through three demons that encroached upon us. "You go ahead. I'll finish up here and bring as much people as I can.".

I nod at her and quickly board the elevator. It guides me up and I see more massive demons being fought as I ascend, large doomguards and infernals being fended off by the wardens and demon hunters alike.

When the elevator stops and I step off, I only need to follow the demon corpses to find them. The closer I get however, the clashing of steel and magic increases and I can feel that this is not the same as the demons themselves. Kor'vas huffs annoyed as she watches Kayn and Altruis fight each other.

"Stop this foolish bickering! We do not have time for this!" she says, and I wholeheartedly agree with her. Escape should be our prime objective.

Kayn grits his teeth as a blow staggers him slightly, but he recovers quick enough to fend off Altruis' blade once again. "Lord Illidan taught us to fight and to persevere. Together, we destroyed countless demons. YOU chose the coward's path." he spits at Altruis and lunges for him.

Altruis grunts but deflects Kayn's blows and strikes for Kayn himself again. "I could only trust my own sight, brother. Lord Illidan was becoming no better than our enemy." he says, the words determined as he speaks them.

"You killed our own people! You spit in the face of our sacrifices!" Kayn yells and strikes true, but not deeply. A swift kick creates distances and they lock blades again.

Kor'vas turns to me. "You need to help them remember their common bonds. The pool behind us is the pool of Judgement. I can reflect memories of the past. Touch it and draw upon your own recollections. Remind them why we fight under Lord Illidan. Remind them why we took the demon hunter's path." she says and I sense a sadness in her.

I walk to the pool and touch it. My mind is swallowed by its waters and I find myself back home, in the Eversong Woods. I see my sisters. My heart aches as I see them, both Farstriders under command of the Ranger General. I see them die again at the hands of the scourge. I see myself following Prince Kael'thas and subsequently being imprisoned in Dalaran for execution.

I remember Lady Vashj rescuing Prince Kael'thas and our people. I remember going to Outland and taking it for Lord Illidan, the Naga, the Broken and our people. I remember being trained at the Black Temple and learning how to fight the demons and the undead, making the pact to gain my powers so I could avenge the destruction of everything I loved, of everything I had.

I remember finding the Doomguard and absorbing his soul by eating his heart and drinking his blood, granting me even more power than most of my kin and solving the addiction to magic I felt inside, but fueling another addiction for Fel energy and demon flesh. The dark pact made to get the vengeance I want. I was always shown the way by Lord Illidan himself. I remember being sent to Mardum as part of an elite demon hunter team due to the power I hold inside. I remember learning the true meaning of sacrifice and the true power us demon hunters hold within. And I remember returning to Black Temple only to find it had fallen already.

It feels like I'm drowning when I return. The sheer overload of all the memories that were thrown at me, the reasons why, overwhelming me.

I take a moment to steady myself and I find Altruis and Kayn have stopped fighting. Kor'vas helps me from my knees and I look at the both of them.

"I respect our past, but I cannot forgive Illidan's methods. The Illidari deserve a better leader." Altruis says, sighing heavily to himself.

"Then we stand at an impasse." Kayn says and looks at me. "Ellisandre. You must resolve this conflict.".

"We need to choose who our leader will be. Kayn or Altruis. Their ideology will color the decisions for the Illidari going forward." Kor'vas says. "No matter who is chosen, our mission remains unchanged. We must recover Illidan and defeat the Legion.".

I nod at her. The decision is not a hard one for me to make.

"Kayn. I trust you as our leader. Cooperation and personal sacrifice are the values Lord Illidan instilled in us. I honor them and in times like these, the need for cooperation with the world is crucial." I say.

"There is no convincing you, I see. Very well, I will take my leave." Altruis says and turns.

"Kayn, beware that you do not share Illidan's fate." he says, and runs off.

Kayn sighs heavily. "Come on. We still need to defeat the demon preventing us from leaving this place.".

We run the same way Altruis did and find the large eredar in the center of the large hall. Many demon hunters and wardens gather as we make our assault.

The eredar laughs, his voice booming as he speaks "Such arrogance…. To think you can stand against the Legion!".

His large sword cuts through us like we're not there. It takes me, Kayn and Kor'vas to parry a single blow. But little by little we dwindle down the demon's stamina. I deftly dodge around a swing before slicing at his legs, attempting to bring him down to his knees. The sheer number of us is proving fruitful as he fell to his knees. By that point it was over as we easily cut him down and sent him back to the Twisting Nether. A shout of victory is heard from demon hunters and wardens alike.

"Everyone! To the entrance! We must escape!" Kayn shouts. Together, we run from the crumbling vault and make our way outside to a clearing. A raven flies down which transforms into a human quickly.

"I am Archmage Khadgar, leader of the Kirin Tor." he says hastily, not waiting for formalities. "Demon hunters, Azeroth needs your help. I kindly ask you to come with me to Dalaran."

"We accept." Kayn says.

"Good." Khadgar states before magic surrounds us and whisks us away to the magical city of the Kirin Tor.


End file.
